


Finding warmth in your arms (I'm not even cold)

by Saori



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek, Alternate Universe, Fluff, High School, M/M, Stiles Stilinski & Kira Yukimura Bromance, Werefox Kira, Werefox Stiles, Werewolf Derek, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 01:38:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12972882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saori/pseuds/Saori
Summary: When Stiles and his father move to Beacon Hills, they have to get familiar with new rules. Being a werefox, Stiles sticks out as a thumb in the small town, but thanks for his luck, he’s not the only one. He doesn’t expect that Kira and him will get close to the pack of ‘wolves whose territory they live in, so when they both fall in love with one, it takes him by surprise.Or, Stiles and Kira are both werefoxes, recently moved into Beacon Hills. They quickly steal their way into the heart of the local werewolf pack.





	Finding warmth in your arms (I'm not even cold)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StaciNadia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaciNadia/gifts).



> Based on the prompt: _“When Stiles is in high school, John moves them to Beacon Hills where he becomes the sheriff there. He meets some kids, including Scott McCall, and the mysterious Derek Hale. He quickly finds out that they are part of the local werewolf pack, led by Derek._
> 
> _But the wolves don't trust Stiles, nor do the humans, because Stiles is a werefox. They know that foxes are cruel tricksters by nature, and most creatures want nothing to do with them because of all the mayhem and deaths they can cause._
> 
> _But Stiles, and werefoxes in general, aren't really horrible. He just likes to play tricks and have fun that doesn't hurt anyone. Just the bad ones are the ones that everyone knows about, and werefoxes try to hide their natures because of their bad reputation. He eventually runs into the only other werefoxes in town, Kira and Noshiko Yukimura, and makes his first friend in Beacon Hills._
> 
> _Stiles (and Kira) eventually wins his way into the hearts of the pack, and Derek in particular.”_
> 
> The minute I saw this prompt, I knew I had to write it. Not only because my favorite trope is fox!Stiles, but the idea of Kira & Stiles friendship really caught my attention, never writing too much of Kira until now.
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this (can you tell, I was aiming to write 5k and the next moment I had this monster in my lap and I had to stop myself from writing more, because there’s no time), and I hope you enjoy reading it just as much!
> 
> Huge thanks and many hugs to my lovely beta, [Kat](https://tiedtogetherwithadagger.tumblr.com), for being so quick, enthusiastic and supportive!
> 
> Enjoy!

Stiles creeps closer and closer, crouched so low, that hopefully, he doesn’t leave a bump-trail in the snow wherever he goes, like creatures do in cartoons and cheap horror movies. He doesn’t see anything from the bright, pearly white of the snow. His nose mostly only picks up watery smells. He can only rely on his hearing.

He’s only a few feet away, as much as he can tell. He never got closer, never so close to touch. He’s moving slow, feeling every muscle shifting under his skin. Just one more minute and he’ll be able to attack, to pounce on vulnerable flesh—

“Stiles, your back is out of the snow.”

God damnit. _God damnit_ , he was so close! He straightens up, looking innocently at the human in front of him. If Stiles could speak right now, he’d be cursing. As it is, he just huffs in defeat, disappointed.

“Stiles. How many times have I told you not to follow me while I’m at work. There are dangerous things out here.”

 _Yeah, yeah, whatever,_ Stiles thinks, mentally rolling his eyes. As it is, he can just huff and blink.

“Are you finished packing?”

Stiles blinks, playing dumb. It would even work, except it’s his father they’re talking about. He’s known him since he was _born_. It can be an annoying trait sometimes.

“Come on, buddy. I’ll take you home. I won’t have your muddy prints all over the carpet again. We’re supposed to keep the house clean.” His dad sighs, shaking his head and starts walking in the snow without looking back to see if Stiles is following.

He does, of course, running ahead of John so he can play and roll around in the snow on their way to the old, beat-up Jeep. The only thing he’s looking forward to, about moving to California, is that he gets that thing of beauty as an apology gift from his father.

It’s only when they reach the Jeep that Stiles realizes, southern California is an annoyingly hot part of the state. He knows this, he looked up the weather reports from Beacon Hills. One inch of snow at most, in the roughest winter.

He stops in front of the Jeep, planting his butt in the freezing cold snow. He won’t be able to play in the snow anymore, once they move. This might be the last time.

“Hurry up, buddy. We leave in two days, and I want you in person while we pack the last things.”

They’ve already sent most of their stuff ahead, boxes probably waiting in their new house. The thought makes Stiles sad. He slips down, so he’s lying in the snow. If his fur wouldn’t be already dripping, it would get so wet on his belly right now.

“Stiles.” His dad crouches down in front of him, face in a mask of worry. Stiles lowers his head. John sighs. “You’re going to miss Portland, aren’t you?” he asks gently, extending a hand. Stiles bumps his nose to it. “I’m sorry, buddy.”

Stiles shakes his head, whining. It’s not his dad’s fault. He got an amazing offer. Stiles wouldn’t wish him to stay in Portland, where his career isn’t likely to move forward. It just sucks, is all.

He likes to live in Oregon. Portland, while not the best, has the vast diversity that comes with living in a big city. One of his classmates, and even four others in the whole school are ‘foxes. His father’s partner, Monroe’s wife, Rosalie is a ‘fox, while Monroe himself is a ‘wolf. Two cops he knows are ‘coyotes, and his most annoying teacher a ‘jaguar.

You would never see that in Beacon Hills. Beacon Hills, while having an amazing reputation regarding its laidback, small-town nature, is truly just a small town. As far as Stiles and his dad are concerned, there’s one fox family living there, recently moved there as well, besides the dominating werewolf pack.

\-----

When they arrive in Beacon Hills, the first thing they do is drive up to the alpha’s house, whose territory they’ll be living in. Another annoying thing, in Portland, alphas don’t get territorial. They have smaller areas they call theirs, but other than a nod of acknowledgement, they don’t require any special announcement when another supernatural moves there.

Apparently, in Beacon Hills, if you move there and you aren’t a part of the territory’s pack, you have to introduce yourself. Stiles even heard from one of his old classmates, that some more traditional packs don’t even let you live in their territory without their permission.

It doesn’t reassure Stiles that his dad has already met the alpha. He said Hale is young and cool with them living there. The alpha just wants to see Stiles too, to get familiar with him, and him with the Hale pack.

Awesome.

Not.

The first thing Stiles notices about Beacon Hills is the splotchy snow around the woods that only covers the ground in certain spots. Stiles grew up within the woods and mountains, where in the winter untouched, blinding, feet high snow covers the ground as far as he can see. He doesn’t know what to make of such a poor mockery of snow.

The drive to the alpha’s place is not as long as Stiles thought it would be. He lives just outside the town, further in the woods. The dirt road leading up to it is short and well-maintained. When it comes into view, though, the house looks huge. Stiles knew the pack was big, his dad warned him about it, but it looks like a mansion that can hold thirty or so people.

“Do they have half the town living in there?” Stiles asks as his dad is leaning forward to see where he can park without blocking anything important.

“They used to have more members. Since Derek became the alpha, there’s only his pack living in there. I believe his family moved out of town.”

“How many members does his pack have?” Stiles is eager to know. When he asked around about the Hale pack, they spoke about big numbers.

“I think they’ll all be here today to introduce themselves, so we’ll see. When I came, there were only four of them present.”

“Four,” Stiles deadpans, waiting for his dad to shut off the engine. As soon as they’re done parking, Stiles reaches for the handle, but his dad stops him with a hand on his other wrist.

“You remember what we talked about, right? Proper introduction, no mouthing and be respectful. Derek is already cool with us, but he has the right to change his mind if he thinks you’re going to cause trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be a good boy. Pinky promise.” Stiles holds up his pinky, waving it in the air. His dad sighs, but let’s go of him, so they can both get out of the Jeep.

They don’t even take two steps towards the house when the door is already opening, and someone steps out, followed by a few others.

From this far away, Stiles can already tell who’s the alpha. He’s not the tallest or the bulkiest one, that title goes to the dark-skinned boy to his right. He’s standing straight, pose commanding respect and obedience. It reminds him of his dad’s ‘I’m the big bad cop’ pose from when he was promoted to sergeant.

The alpha has dark hair and carefully maintained facial hair, standing there in a dark Henley, arms crossed, showing off how the material stretches over his muscles. The rest of the pack are good-looking too, the aforementioned dark-skinned boy dressed in a similar fashion. If Stiles knows anything about pack politics, he must be the second-in-command.

The rest of them aren’t dressed as nicely, the guy to the alpha’s left – crooked jaw line, dark hair, boyish features – is in a grey hoodie, white tee, and jeans. The others seem casual enough that Stiles doesn’t bother taking stock of all of them.

John and him only halt for a second at the surprise of being greeted so soon, but then his dad positions himself slightly in front of Stiles – a cop thing he’s done this since Stiles can remember– and leads them up to the porch. They don’t step up the stairs, the power imbalance obvious. Annoying werewolf traditions.

“Alpha Hale, nice to see you again.”

“You as well, Sheriff,” the alpha says, stepping down the steps, his pack staying behind. He shakes hands with the Sheriff, then turns to Stiles. “You must be the fox—”

“I have a name, you know. One, I believe my dad told you when he last saw you,” Stiles cuts him off. From the look his father sends him, yep, he just went ahead and done everything he said he wouldn’t.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful,” Derek says after a pause, and his dad’s arm relaxes. Stiles didn’t even notice it moved where he usually keeps his gun. “I’m Derek Hale. This is my pack. You’re Stiles, right?” he asks, and… smiles? It’s awfully a lot like a grimace, like the guy never learned how to smile.

“Yeah.” Stiles nods. He steps forward. “Stiles Stilinski. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hale.” There he goes, ‘proper introduction’, just like his father wanted. He even extends his hand for a shake.

“Please, call me Derek.” He takes Stiles’ hand, not shaking just squeezing gently, then dropping it. He takes a step back. “This is my pack. We aren’t the most traditional pack, as I mentioned to the Sheriff before. Most of them are bitten, although I have some family members still on the land.

“This is Vernon Boyd, my second-in-command.” He motions for the dark-skinned boy, who steps down and shakes hand with both Stiles and John. “Scott McCall, my… mentee,” he says, to which John and Stiles share a look of confusion, but don’t comment as the crooked-jawed boy steps down.

“I’m training to be an alpha,” Scott says grinning at them. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hey dude.” Stiles smiles as Scott beams at him.

“Is there anything we should be aware of, regarding Stiles?” His dad asks when Scott joins Vernon behind Derek’s shoulder. Stiles almost protests that he doesn’t need special instructions, but he knows better than getting between his father and his own safety.

“There’s nothing I can think of,” says Derek, shaking his head and returning to his formal stand. “Don’t cause too much trouble for my pack,” he adds after a brief pause, looking straight into Stiles’ eyes. His are bright, with not one color in them that Stiles could pinpoint.

“Sure,” Stiles answers, smirking. Derek’s eyes narrow, but he doesn’t comment.

“Thank you. Then we’ll get going, we still have a lot of unpacking to do before school starts next week,” his dad says, glancing at Stiles.

“Can’t wait to see you at school,” Scott says, excited. Derek glances at him, but he doesn’t really acknowledge him.

They leave with another round of handshakes, finally on their way to their new home.

It’s nice, Stiles must admit. The buildings a little outdated, sure, but overall Beacon Hills doesn't look like something he would hate. He just has to warm up to it a bit.

They soon reach their new street. In a typical small-town way, the cars are freely parking in front of the houses, white fences and probably pie-baking neighbors. Their new home is a little like their own—old—house. Stiles has a lot to get used to. He sighs as he and his dad start on the first round of boxes that go into the kitchen.

\-----

Monday comes too soon and too early. In two weeks, thanks to the move, Stiles got used to being able to sleep in. Now that both John and Stiles start their new life, they have to get ready before the sun’s even up.

John drops Stiles off at school, hopefully the last time before he gets the cruiser, and Stiles squares his shoulders for what’s to come. They went ahead to the school on Friday, a few days after they arrived, so now Stiles has his schedule and map ready without having to wander around finding the school office. He even got his lock for his locker, and he quickly finds the number painted on the back of it.

He’s surprised to spot Scott McCall leaning against his locker. He walks up, seeing Scott talking to two girls while one of them is putting their things away in the locker next to Stiles’.

“Oh, hey!” Scott says as Stiles gets closer, pushing away from the metal. “Stiles, right?”

“Yeah, hi.”

“This is Lydia and Erica.” Scott motions to the two girls. Stiles has a vague memory of them on the porch, but he isn’t a hundred percent sure it was them. One of them is blonde, with rather… inappropriate clothes, the other has red hair, and a flowery dress, despite the cool weather.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Stiles smiles, nodding to them. “Uh, that’s my locker.” He points behind Scott, who turns to look, then quickly steps away.

“Sorry, man.” He rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Hey, you need anything, just let us know.”

“Sure. Thanks.” Stiles nods, stepping up and opening the locker, putting two books inside. He puts on the lock, and sets the combination – the same he had in his old school, because fuck learning new numbers.

“Well, we need to get to class. Good luck on your first day, man,” Scott says awkwardly, the girls not offering the same, and then they’re gone. Stiles sighs in relief and pulls out his map to find his first class.

By the time he gets to it, the bell has rung, and Stiles genuinely hopes the teachers here are just as laidback and careless as in Portland. Five minutes wasn’t a big deal for them.

He isn’t lucky, and his hopes are crushed as the teacher looks at him through narrow glasses.

“You’re the new kid, Stilinski, right? Well, first day or not, there’s no excuse for being late. You can join Miss Yukimura on detention. Take a seat.”

Stiles does, glaring at the teacher the whole way to his seat. He settles down, pulling out the sheet that lists his classes and their teachers’ names. Adrian Harris. _It’s an honor to have you as the first on the list of ‘annoying teachers in BHH’,_ Stiles decides.

He bears through the class, then the next and the next until it’s lunch and he finds himself standing in the cafeteria with his tray and no idea where to sit. The Hale pack have their own table, where they look to be having fun. Other than that, everyone is sitting in cliques and Stiles regrets not making friends yet.

Technically, Scott said if he needs anything, he can just talk to Scott, but he doesn’t know if that offer stands for all the members of the pack. He turns and looks over the room once again, until he spots a table with only one occupant.

He walks up carefully, clearing his throat when he steps up to the girl.

“Hey, sorry, can I—”

“You’re Stiles, right?” the girl asks right away, smiling up at him.

“Yep, the man himself, Stiles Stilinski,” Stiles says a little taken aback. He puts down his tray and slides onto the bench to be level with the girl. He reaches over his fried chicken, offering his hand to shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Kira, Kira Yukimura. It’s nice to meet you too. And really cool to have another ‘fox moving here.” She grins, shaking his hand briefly. Stiles’ eyebrows lift, and he grins as well.

“So, you’re the other ‘fox here. I thought we’d never meet.”

“Me too. Mom mentioned your dad at dinner, and I thought it sounded familiar when Harris said your name. First day and Harris already put you in detention. Nice!” She laughs. It’s a nice sound, Stiles decides, one that he wouldn’t mind hearing every now and then.

“Hey! It’s not my fault the dude has a stick up his ass. Like, seriously, it’s my first day. Everybody is late on their first day!”

“Tell that to the teachers here. In New York, the teachers just shrugged and moved on if someone didn’t show up in class. It’s like they’re always watching here. ‘Are you late, are you late? One second after 8, you’re late!’” she mocks, narrowing her eyes, pursing her lips in a horrible impersonation of Harris. She even taps on her wrist like there’s a watch, shaking an index finger at Stiles. Stiles loves it.

He laughs loudly, possibly drawing attention to them from all of the cafeteria, but he doesn’t care.

Stiles always found foxes the best company. While most talk about them being mischievous and troublemakers, in reality, they’re just the saltiest sarcastic little shits Stiles has ever known. They aren’t afraid to speak their minds, and that often gets them into trouble, not them purposely looking to cause it.

Lunch goes by in a blur of talking about how different small-town life is from big city life – while Portland isn’t as big as New York, him and Kira find a lot of common things in them.

Stiles is a little disappointed to learn that their next class is not the same, but Kira promises to see him in detention with a wink. Stiles laughs, delighted, and goes to the next class in a good mood.

The day ends with detention, where Kira and Stiles both do their homework, then switch to check the other’s work, because they’re bored. Kira is great at English but sucks at math, so he quickly corrects her numbers, while Kira corrects his spelling in his history essay.

As soon as detention lets out, they’re up and out of the room, making plans for the weekend to have a run in the forest. His dad picks him up while Kira gets into a sleek silver Chevy and waves at him.

“A friend?” His dad asks as Stiles gets into the cruiser. The Jeep must be home, ready for him to take it to school the next day, all alone.

“Remember how you mentioned that I wouldn’t be the only ‘fox in town?” His dad makes a noise of acknowledgement as he turns in the other direction than Kira’s car. “Kira and her mom are the ones,” he says proudly. His dad hums, nodding distracted. They’re still getting familiar with the layout of the town.

“That’s good that you made a friend already. I was a little worried, Derek’s pack seems to be mostly teenagers. They’re a rather old-school pack too, you know how Monroe’s family is about Rose.”

“How’re they doing?” Stiles asks, because he misses Rosalie. She was the one who often looked after Stiles when his dad was too busy chasing crime. Now, Rose and Monroe are expecting their first child, and John had to break up a fight between Monroe and his dad because of it a few months back. Monroe’s family never really liked that Monroe married out of the bloodline, and with this kid, they were furious. It left both Rose and Monroe devastated.

“Good. Monroe’s excited about the baby as ever, it drives Rose crazy.” His dad laughs, quiet. He misses them too.

“Good, that’s good.” Stiles smiles.

\-----

It feels like forever until the weekend rolls around. Stiles sticks with Kira mostly, feeling in his element with the other ‘fox. Derek’s pack leaves them mostly alone, though Scott often says hi to them when he sees them in the corridor. Stiles has a feeling the enthusiastic greetings are mostly in Kira’s favor, though the boy seems to have taken a liking of him too.

Stiles doesn’t know if he needs to ask for permission to run around in ‘fox form on the Hale land. He just figures that ‘don’t cause too much trouble for my pack’ translates to ‘don’t fuck with my pack and you’re good’. Running in the forest, in his opinion, doesn’t qualify as ‘fucking with his pack’.

He and Kira are having fun, turned into their forms in different parts of the forest, and they yip loudly to find each other. Stiles stops doing it just shy from meeting Kira and hides between two bushes before she gets into eyesight.

She jogs up in front of where Stiles is hiding, and sniffs the air. Before Stiles can jump out, scaring her, she pounces, and then there’s a werefox on Stiles, happily yipping in his ears. He shoots out from under Kira, taking off deeper into the forest, and Kira follows, nipping on his tail here and there.

They’re just rolling around, playfully fighting, when there’s a deep growl from the side. Stiles is on alert immediately, letting go of Kira and on his feet, positioned to protect his friend. The growling fades then stops, and someone steps out of the shadows.

Derek Hale.

Fuck.

Kira yelps, backing away, but Stiles doesn’t. He keeps his stance, ready to jump to her defense.

“Stiles?” Derek looks over him, then at Kira. “Kira?” Stiles relaxes slightly, but doesn’t answer. “You’re at the border of our territory. You should get back home.”

Stiles tilts his head to the side.

“What?” Derek frowns, looking around. He has only a Henley on, despite the biting cold, and his hands are curled into fists. “The town is that way.” He points at where Kira and him came from. Stiles tilts his head to the other side, confusing Derek even more.

“What?” he asks, seemingly frustrated. Stiles looks over his shoulder at Kira, who’s watching Stiles, sitting on her butt. Stiles turns back and runs to Derek’s legs, pulling at his jeans. Derek grunts, stepping back and shaking his leg. “Let go of me, Stiles. What are you doing?”

Stiles sits down and looks up at him. Derek snarls at him. Stiles yawns.

“Okay, come on, let’s go,” Derek says, finally, then he bends and before Stiles can get away, there are hands grabbing him by his torso. He scrambles to get away, but he’s already being lifted off the ground, then pressed into a stone-hard chest and—

Oh.

Oh, that’s nice.

Derek is like a heater and his steady heartbeat is like meditation music Stiles listens to fall asleep. He’s still biting the arms that cradle him to that great, amazing chest, but he isn’t scratching anymore, not intentionally at least, as he tries to settle comfortably. One of his legs is hanging down and his tail is pinched under Derek’s armpit.

“Kira, stop it.” Stiles looks down to see Kira attacking – successfully leaving a few tears in the fabric of Derek’s jeans. Stiles yips, to which Kira looks up, worried. Stiles bites down on an arm holding him.

Kira jumps up to lean against Derek’s hips with her front feet, and starts pulling Derek’s shirt. Stiles bites down harder, and Derek drops him. “For fuck’s sake. Go home by yourselves or I’ll make you.” Derek threatens and they both let out a foxy laugh, shooting off towards the town, racing each other. Derek doesn’t follow them.

\-----

“Did you see his face?” Stiles laughs, plopping down into the booth with his paper plate that holds a burger and French fries.

“He was so confused!” Kira says, shaking her head, grinning as she puts her own burger down.

“I love to do that to people. My dad unfortunately knows me too well to know I’m just messing with him.”

“Me too. Mom says I shouldn’t.” She snickers, picking up a fry.

“Do you think Derek knows?” Stiles wonders aloud, biting into his burger first.

“That we understand him in fox form?” She lifts her own tofu burger, raising her eyebrows with a flat look. “From his reaction I doubt it.”

Stiles laughs and his burger tastes just a little bit better from that knowledge.

\-----

Stiles’ father isn’t impressed. In the slightest.

“You could’ve gotten hurt.”

“I could get hurt by showering, that’s not really a threat when it comes to me,” Stiles argues, throwing his hands up.

“This isn’t Portland, Stiles. There’s no hunting policies here, you know that.”

“What are the chances that I happen to run into a hunter?” Stiles rolls his eyes.

“Pretty big, Stiles!” His dad barely raises his voice, only when he’s truly fucking pissed. Stiles curls into himself on the sofa. John sighs, massaging the bridge of his nose. “I just met a hunter in town today. They’re here and they’re hunting occasionally, if their equipment is anything to go by.”

“Derek should’ve told us when we arrived,” Stiles mutters under his breath, glaring at the corner of the coffee table.

“And he will get his share for it, when we go see him tomorrow afternoon.” Stiles looks up at that so sharply and quick, that he pulls a muscle in his neck.

“What?!”

“He’s going to walk you and Kira over the border of the territory so you’re familiar with it. No,” he raises his voice to stop Stiles from his protesting that’s already bubbling up in his chest, “arguing. Now, pick a movie. I’ll make popcorn.”

When John told Stiles that he accepted the offer as sheriff, he also told him he won’t let it get between them, like his old job did right after Stiles’ mom died. They figured one night for father-son bonding every week was mandatory for both of them. It’s just unfortunate it’s the same night Stiles “got into trouble”.

Stiles huffs, pissed, crossing his arms over his chest. It’s not fair.

\-----

Kira’s car is already parked when Stiles and his dad roll up to the house in the cruiser. His dad had a shift earlier, so he just picked Stiles up as he was done, uniform still on, gun in place securely.

Derek is waiting for them, arms crossed, on the bottom step of the porch. For once, he has a jacket over his shirt. His pack is nowhere to be seen. Stiles and John get out, walking straight up to Derek. The ride here was comfortably quiet, and they keep it that way until they stop a few feet away from the alpha.

“Hello, Sheriff. Scott already took Kira, if you don’t mind. He was already about to scan the border and offered, Kira accepted. I figured they’d be safer too. If I was the only one going, I couldn’t be able to pay equally as much attention to both of them, in case we were attacked.”

Stiles snorts at this, hiding it behind his palm. His dad doesn’t tell him off though, seems amused instead. He knows as much as Stiles does just how much more capable foxes are to defend themselves than some give them credit for.

“That’s fine. Take Stiles, then I’d like to have a talk with you and your second, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

“Of course.” Derek nods, stepping down from the stairs. “Boyd, lead the Sheriff inside. I’m sure he’d like to have a chat with you alone as well.” Derek doesn’t raise his voice, just turns his head slightly. Not two moments later Vernon is there in the doorway, nodding at Stiles as a greeting.

His dad squeezes Stiles’ shoulder as he steps closer to the porch.

Derek steps aside, gesturing to Stiles.

“After you, big guy.” Stiles grins, which earns a flat look from his dad. Stiles shrugs, and heads off after Derek.

They walk in silence for awhile, the only sound the crunching of fallen leaves and the occasional spot of snow they’re walking through. There’s a bird or two tweeting, but Stiles is so used to that, he doesn’t even notice.

“You can shift into a fox,” Derek says after a while. Stiles hums, looking where he’s going.

“Yup. Every werefox can.”

“I didn’t know that. Do you have a beta form?”

“Yup. Not for show though," he warns before Derek can get ideas. Werefoxes’ beta shift is usually only achievable if they’re fighting. Stiles only shifted into beta form twice in his life.

“I see.” Derek doesn’t seem like a chatty type. That’s alright though. Stiles can be chatty without the other person participating.

“So, you have a thing for biting teenagers or it’s just a coincidence that every bitten in your pack is a teenager?” Stiles asks nonchalantly, then without waiting for an answer, he continues: “Are the local authorities fine with that? Do you have hunters as cops here? In Portland, my dad’s old partner was a hunter. Total douche in my opinion, but he did his job. Well, until he couldn’t because he picked a fight with an alpha in a bar and lost his head. Literally. It wasn’t a sight to behold.”

“We don’t like hunters around here.” Derek mutters. It’s only thanks to Stiles’ somewhat enhanced hearing he picks it up. “You’ll learn soon enough that smaller towns are nothing like big cities like Portland or New York.”

“Yeah, my dad had this whole speech. That only insiders know about supernatural, and it’s usually only big cities that created their own rules about them. My dad thinks it’s going to be hard for me to get used to the ‘small-town ways’, because I grew up in a city with a supernatural at every corner.”

“I can see how you’d have problems with that. Kira too.” Derek stops walking, turning to Stiles. “This is the border. It stretches out that way,” he points towards the town, “right until the edge of the town. Come on.”

They start walking on an invisible line. Stiles tries to decide how Derek knows where exactly that line is, but he can’t pick up anything from either sound, smell or sight. He guesses it must be some sort of natural knowledge or a feeling Derek has when he’s crossing a border.

“So, what’s this big of a territory for, for such a small pack?” Stiles wonders aloud. He’s trying to memorize the path.

“We don’t need it. We have it. My family used to live here, we were much bigger of a pack than this. They left us with the land.”

“They just what, up and left? You got the land just for your pretty eyes? Which, they are, don’t get me wrong. It just seems weird that you inherited such a huge territory for nothing.”

“You don’t know a lot about pack politics, do you?” Derek raises his eyebrows. He doesn’t look at Stiles, scanning the forest in front of them. Stiles shrugs.

“I know as much as people told me. Mostly Monroe, my dad’s partner, and my classmates. Why? Am I missing something?” He frowns, trying to remember anything pack politics say about the land the pack is living on, but… In the city it wasn’t really something anyone had to worry about.

“Yes.” Derek doesn’t offer more explanation. It makes Stiles see red.

“What? What is it?” he asks eagerly. Derek shakes his head, but doesn’t explain, which really puts Stiles’ self-restraint to the test. After a minute or so, he manages to calm down, wondering how long the walk will take.

“So, Scott seems to like Kira,” he mentions, not quite sure how Derek feels about that. He just hopes his dad isn’t right and Derek isn’t as conservative as certain families are.

“He does.”

“That’s all?” Stiles raises his eyebrows. “In my experience ‘wolves are rather… cautious about foxes.”

“I am. But Scott is his own person. He can make his own mistakes.”

“Mistakes?” Stiles hums, kicking into a pile of snow. “I mean, falling in love is always risky. Does it really matter if the person is a certain species?”

“Falling in love? I doubt they’re there yet. And aren’t teenagers supposed to have this romantic idea about love and all that?” Derek grumbles, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.

“Yeah, mostly.” Stiles shrugs, putting his hands into his pockets as well, looking at the ground. Truth is, he’s seen what love can do to people, especially if it’s ripped away from them. Stiles is the last one to ramble about perfect love.

Derek looks at him, just for a few moments, but doesn’t say anything else. The rest of the walk is quiet, not much else is being said other than just small talk.

When they get back to the house, Kira is waiting for him while his dad, Vernon and Scott are nowhere to be seen. He’s just about to ask, but Kira is quicker than him.

“They’re inside. I think John scares Scott.” Kira smirks. Stiles raises his eyebrows at the familiar tone Kira is talking about his dad, but doesn’t mention.

“I’m gonna ask dad if it’s okay if we go out and spend the rest of the day shop—doing homework!” he raises his voice as he sees his dad stepping out of the house. His dad couldn’t possibly hear what he said, but he still sends Stiles a flat look.

“Go, but if your homework isn’t done by tomorrow, you’re grounded.”

“Sure thing, daddy-o!” Stiles shouts, taking a hold of Kira’s arm and pulling her towards her car. “Done and perfect, just like your son!”

“My ass, that’s what’s perfect, Stiles!” John shouts back, just as Stiles sits into the passenger seat, Kira already in the driver’s.

 “That is truly disturbing, thanks, dad, bye!” And with that, Stiles shuts the car door. Kira is giggling as she starts up the engine, and Stiles just sees a glance of Scott’s horrified, pale face before they drive away.

\-----

“Hey, Kira!” Stiles hears just as he’s opening his locker, stuffing two books inside. Kira is standing next to him, having just finished telling Stiles about the ice she had to scrape off her car in the morning.

“Scott!” She smiles, pushing away from the locker next to Stiles’, where she was leaning against.

“Hey, man,” Stiles greets him too, because hey, he’s not actually invisible. As far as he’s concerned anyways. Most people in school don’t seem too eager to acknowledge his existence, but that might just be a glitch in the matrix.

“Hey, Stiles,” Scott says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Stiles rolls his eyes and sends a significant look to Kira before continuing to stuff his things in and out his locker. “So, Kira, I listened to that band you recommended, uh, _Crown the Empire_? They’re pretty rad.”

“They are, right?” Kira grins, showing off her pretty pearls. “My favorite is _The Fallout_ , what’s yours?”

“Uh, yeah, I like that one too!” Scott nods, a smile splitting his face almost in half. Stiles pauses at shoving his books away, then zips up his backpack and shuts the locker closed.

“I still can’t comprehend how you listen to that noise.” Stiles shakes his head, turning so he can see both of them.

“It’s not noise. And how about you and your _Linkin Park_?” Kira snorts.

“ _Linkin Park_ is awesome, and you know that,” Stiles says. “Alright, kids, time for school. Chop-chop, Kira, Harris will have our heads.” Stiles waves and Kira smiles at Scott.

“See you later, Scott.” She says, then turns to start the walk towards class. Stiles takes advantage of the noise around them and Kira's head start, so she won’t hear when he says to Scott:

“Dude, girls like your honest opinion much better than you trying to agree with their every word. Especially Kira. ‘Be yourself’ isn’t just a saying for the sake of it,” he whispers, then turns when Kira calls his name from a few feet away. “Good luck, man,” he says at last, then quickly joins Kira, because he really doesn’t want to be late.

\-----

“Hey, dude,” Stiles says, surprised, as he steps up to his and Kira’s usual table on the next day, now accompanied by Scott. The boy grins up at him, waving awkwardly.

“Hey! How’s it going?” he asks, and Stiles shrugs. He puts down his tray and sits down slowly, catching Kira’s eyes. She says with her gaze, ‘don’t say a word’.

“Everything’s good,” Stiles answers, still a little cautious, but he tries to act normal. He can confront Kira about it after school. “What about you? Got bored of having to fight for food?” he points at where the pack is arguing in their usual fashion about the desserts.

“I just thought I’d see how the view is from this side of the school.” Scott beams at Kira.

“Well, you’re in luck, you’re sitting at the coolest table ever. Hey, how did your math test go?” Stiles nudges Kira’s foot with his own without missing a beat, because she looks ready to A, murder him, or B, for the ground to swallow her.

“Amazing!” Kira grins proudly, straightening up. “Your way of explaining made much more sense. I think I actually got the answers right. Scott didn’t seem that sure about his own though.” She looks over at Scott, worrying her bottom lip.

“I’m not best at math,” he says sheepish. “I like biology and such more. What’s your favorite subject?” he asks, glancing at Stiles just enough to give the illusion he’s interested in his answer as well.

“All of them. Except history,” Stiles says. Neither of his lunchmates seem to care.

“English. I love to learn about new books and poetry. Literature is so nice! And much easier than math.” She sends a cheeky smile Stiles’ way, who’s getting more and more bored.

“Well,” Stiles cuts them off, waving his fork in the air, “Kira, you can thank me for math by getting me through that mission in _Assassin’s Creed_ like you promised me.”

“Now you’re just taking advantage of me,” Kira smirks, shaking her head, finally turning to pay attention to him too.

“Which one are you stuck at?” Scott pipes up, looking interested as well. Never say Stiles isn’t good at drawing attention on himself.

“In _Brotherhood_ , when you have to chase down the thief. I’ve been struggling with it for three days already, it’s fucking annoying.” Stiles explains.

“I never got through that.” Scott winces. “I’ve abandoned the game because of it.”

“Oh my God, how did you ever make society believe boys are good at video games?” Kira glares at them, like Stiles and Scott are personally responsible for this stereotype. The boys turn to each other, sharing a look. “Fine. This weekend, Stiles’ house. You’re both going to learn how to play. No excuses.” She points at them with her almond shaped nails. Stiles knows, because he was the one paying for them.

“You promised we would run this weekend. It’s finally going to snow, remember?” Stiles leans forward.

“And I have work, then a pack meeting, so Saturday is definitely out of the question.” Scott shakes his head.

“Shit, we visit grandma this Sunday. Okay, when is your shift over on Saturday, Scott?” she asks.

“Around four?” Scott seems unsure. “Depending on how long the meeting lasts.”

“We can run before that, then go to the Hale house. We’ll give you a few clothes on Friday to take to the house, so we don’t have to go home before that.” Stiles suggests and Kira nods, seemingly having the same idea.

“That sounds great!” Scott beams.

“Wait, does Derek even have a console or computer?” Stiles frowns.

“He does, actually.” Scott sounds smug about that. “It was our collective Christmas present for him last year. His uncle actually helped out with it, and even bought a huge TV for it too.”

“Awesome!” Stiles claps his hands, eagerly waiting for the weekend already. It’s only Tuesday. This week is going to be miserable.

\-----

Weekend comes, finally, and Stiles’ worries about his dad being icky about the plans are out of the window. He's is actually pretty cool with the whole idea. He’s still unsure about the young ‘foxes hanging out with the ‘wolves, but not so much after his talk with Derek the previous weekend. He seems more at ease about the pack, probably coming to an understanding.

Him and Kira take off into the forest right after breakfast, because it snowed overnight, and now there’s enough snow to cover Stiles’ toes. It feels stupid, being so excited about such a small thing, but growing up where he did, winters were always the most fun for a young kit.

They’re out for a while, missing lunch but not getting too hungry. They play and roll around the snow, Stiles maybe a bit more than Kira. He can’t help it, he loves being able to play in the snow.

They only guess when it’s time for them to head to the Hale house. They’re running towards it, and just as they get close, the door opens.

They run past the jean-clad legs, coming to a halt just inside. Kira is panting, her mouth open in a foxy grin. Stiles yips at her happily, sitting his butt down. He cranes his neck to look up when a finger touches the tip of his ear.

“You’re dripping. What did you do, roll around in the mud as much as possible?” Derek asks, eyebrows furrowed. His finger is still bothering Stiles ear, so he flicks it in dismissal. Derek shakes his head. “Your clothes are in the bathroom. Lydia, would you mind taking Kira? I’ll shower Stiles first.”

Stiles’ eyes widen in horror, muscles tensing so he can jump away, but once again Derek is quicker than him, taking hold of him. Stiles doesn’t know if Derek learned how to lift animals in the short time of a week, but he quickly lifts him and has him in a much more comfortable position than last time. Well, except the hand on his muzzle.

“Come on, Kira, bathroom is right through here. Don’t worry, Deaton taught Derek how to handle animals, even if he doesn’t admit it. Everyone could smell the vet and the various animals in your hands,” the girl Stiles guesses is Lydia deadpans, looking at Derek with a no bullshit expression.

Derek swallows, but doesn’t comment as he takes Stiles up the stairs, while Kira is led into a downstairs room. He doesn’t get a good look at the house, mainly thanks to Derek’s hand on his muzzle blocking his view, but he can smell each member, many still unfamiliar to him. Then Derek’s scent hits him before they enter the bathroom, where he’s lowered into a bathtub and released.

Stiles glares at Derek for it. Derek doesn’t seem to care. Soon, too hot water hits Stiles’ tail and he jumps away before Derek adjusts the temperature. Then gentle, big hands are massaging every inch of Stiles, and he’s thoroughly enjoying himself, thank you very much.

When the water turns clear, Derek shuts off the shower and covers Stiles with a towel, rubbing him uncomfortably, before getting a hair dryer and turning it on the lowest setting.

“Your clothes are downstairs,” Derek says, gesturing Stiles to get out of the tub on his own. He does, following Derek out. He takes a look around the bare bedroom, eyes brightening at the sight of the queen bed. Before he can pounce, Derek’s picking him up, taking him out of the room in his arms, then drops him in the hallway, shutting the door before Stiles has a chance to sneak in.

Stiles sits down, glaring up at Derek. Derek is looking back with his grumpy eyebrows.

“Go.” Derek orders at last, breaking the eye contact as he points towards the stairs. Stiles huffs annoyed, but obeys.

“Oh my god!” The shriek is so loud, Stiles thinks he went deaf for a moment. It came from the blonde girl… Erica? Who’s looking at him with wide eyes, hands covering her mouth. Stiles looks at the giggling Kira confused.

“Sorry, Stiles, but you look… Fluffy.”

Oh, crap. The blow-dryer. Stiles looks sharply at Derek, who just shrugs innocently, but there’s a slight curl to the corner of his mouth. Stiles is murdering the motherfucker, he swears to God—

Kira giggles again, and Stiles steps closer to Derek, demanding the directions to his clothes with loud yips.

“You know, I’d rather keep you like this.” The asshole has the nerve to grin, then picks him up, arranging him so Stiles’ back is to the room, his front paws resting on his shoulder, hind legs braced on Derek’s arm. They move into the living room, Stiles only seeing a few amused faces as they pass, then his balance shifts, Derek plopping down on an armchair. He just barely misses smashing Stiles’ jaw into the backrest.

He yelps, but then everybody else settles, seemingly relaxing around the ‘foxes, now that their fearless leader found rest. Stiles turns, shaking his head as he settles down on Derek’s chest. Fine, if he isn’t going to let him shift back, he’s going to take advantage of it.

“Do you have any fruit?” Kira asks, glancing at the boxes of pizza on the table. It’s probably partially for them, even for ‘wolves, ten boxes is too much.

“Fruit?” Scott asks confused, glancing at Derek.

“Human food upsets foxes' stomach, and we didn’t have lunch. Stiles is going to starve once he changes back, I want to have at least something in him.” She looks over at Stiles, who blinks at her flatly in a gesture of gratitude.

“Lydia, the last few bananas and apples are still there,” Derek says to the girl. The redhead nods, leaving the room. “We ordered a vegetarian for you too, Scott mentioned you don’t eat meat.” Derek nods at the pizza boxes for Kira, who smiles at him warmly.

Lydia returns not long after with chopped up fruit, passing the bowl to Derek, then settles on the sofa, where the ‘wolves and Kira are munching on pizza, engaging in small talk about school.

The afternoon passes in delight, Kira kicking ass in every video game they play. Derek sometimes pushes a fruit in Stiles’ mouth, and his hand finds it’s way behind his ears, scratching. He only shifts back when they whip out _Rocket League_ , and he doesn’t feel awkward for spending the last two hours on Derek’s chest, he _doesn’t_.

Once it’s past eight, Derek commands everyone to go home, Scott offering a ride to Kira. Unfortunately, that leaves Stiles without a riding buddy, because he isn’t comfortable enough with anyone else in the pack to ride with.

“Come on, you don’t live that far from me.” Lydia surprises him by pushing a foreign jacket in his hand.

“Uh, thank you.” He turns to Derek then, who’s now sitting on the sofa, with a girl’s – Cora’s, if Stiles remembers correctly – legs in his lap. “And thanks for letting us keep the _Assassin’s Creed_ advanced training here. Too bad there wasn’t actually _AC_ at all.” He laughs, and Derek actually smiles at him, small and private, but it feels huge.

Lydia leads him to a deep blue Ford Focus. They get in, Lydia immediately turning on the heat as she starts the engine. She doesn’t talk, and Stiles doesn’t know what to say, so they spend the first five minutes in silence. Then Lydia starts talking. And Stiles wishes she hadn’t.

“So, I hear werefoxes are very careful about who they let into their secrets. So, imagine my shock when Derek said ‘Stiles told me a thing or two about ‘foxes, but nothing explicit’. And now, he takes you up to his room – which I don’t think anyone, not even the construction team have ever seen -, and bathes you. Then you two cuddle for two hours. I find it incredibly interesting.”

Stiles doesn’t even know what to say at first. He never… really had anything like this happen to him. The closest he came to being teased about his crush was when he constantly hung out with Heather and their parents cooed at them.

“As the brain of this branch,” Lydia continues after a beat, “I feel the need to point out that this is a bad idea. As a bad idea, it also has very poor execution. Your sense of fashion is as questionable as Derek’s, but he at least wears clothes his size, not twice of it. He’s rather thick, so you need to make the first step. And for the love of God, talk to your father about it.”

Just as she says that, they’re pulling up in front of Stiles’ house. She doesn’t offer anything else, staring straight ahead, waiting for Stiles to get out. Which he does, once he realizes that. Lydia pulls and drives away without any further ado.

\-----

Having Kira out of town the day after is torture. Stiles can’t stop thinking about Lydia’s words. He couldn’t even hold a normal conversation with his dad after he got in.

Monday comes eventually, and despite texting Kira all Sunday, Stiles is fidgety and nervous about the talk he’s about to have with her. She meets him at the stairs leading up to the school.

“So, you and Derek, huh?” She cocks an eyebrow with a shit eating grin. Stiles rolls his eyes at it.

“Not funny, Kira. I don’t know how Lydia thought she could just dump this on me and drive away. It’s not fair.” Said redhead is just walking towards the school, ignoring them. “Unfair, Martin, you hear that?!” Stiles shouts after the girl as she passes. The only acknowledgement he gets from her is a flick of her hair. Stiles turns back to Kira. “Right?”

“Yep,” she says, popping the ‘p’, then gesturing towards the school, so they get going. “I’m not sure this is as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be. Having a requited crush is supposed to be a good thing. What’s the freak out about?”

“Okay, let’s start with the basics: I never intended to have a crush. Secondly, he’s a werewolf. Oh, and like decades older than me. And did I mention werewolf?”

“He’s twenty-six. Barely a decade older. And what’s wrong with him being a werewolf?” Kira frowns, opening her locker.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever met a mixed couple, but my dad’s partner back in Portland was a werewolf. His wife was a fox. His dad almost tore them apart when he learned about that, because he believes mixed marriages dirty up the bloodline. A lot of ‘wolves have similar mindsets.”

“Okay, look.” Kira turns to him when she’s done putting away her stuff. “One bigoted family doesn’t mean all of them are. And Derek seems cool enough that he lets us hang out with his pack. If he was so against ‘foxes, he wouldn’t. Besides, I haven’t heard him protesting my and Scott’s relationship either.”

“So, you _have_ a relationship now?” Stiles smirks, wriggling his eyebrows. Kira huffs, turning away to start the walk to Stiles’ locker, and he stumbles to follow her.

“That’s not the point.” Her cheeks are bright red, but Stiles doesn’t comment, because he can tease Kira about that later. There are more pressing matters at hand. Like Derek Hale.

“Okay, theoretically,” Stiles starts, which earns him a flat look, “Derek is cool with me being a fox and he isn’t ancient compared to me. There’s still the issue that I’ve never been with anyone, I’ve never even been on a date. I don’t know how to do this.”

“You don’t have to.” Kira shrugs. “It’s basically just hanging out as friends. With some extras. You don’t have to overcomplicate it.”

“How do I even ask him out? We never meet in private.” Stiles frowns, shaking his head as he steps up to his locker.

“We can fix that. We’re ‘foxes, remember? We’re the tricksters of the supernatural.” She grins widely. Stiles feels like he walked into a trap.

“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?” he asks, looking skywards.

“Absolutely,” Kira laughs delighted.

\-----

“I can’t do this!” Stiles complains, bouncing his leg while sitting in the car. Kira looks over at him meaningfully.

“Stiles. Stop freaking out. Just roll with it.”

“But… He doesn’t even know! Look at him, he’s like a kicked puppy. I’m a terrible person. No, you are.”

“No, remember, you’re the one who doesn’t know. Just call those acting skills of yours to the surface. You’re going to be awesome. And we’re both great people. Now go.” Kira literally pushes him out of the car. Stiles goes flailing, glaring at the silver Chevy as it speeds away.

He takes a deep breath, looking over at where Derek is texting on the sidewalk. He has no idea the whole thing was staged. Stiles feels awful.

He starts walking, pretending to have been walking for longer than he did. As he nears Derek, he looks up from his phone, face already set in a frown. Stiles is going to kill Kira.

“Hey!” he pants, jogging the rest of the way to Derek, who locks his phone to turn his attention to Stiles.

“Hey. I thought you weren’t coming either, since Kira’s on a date with Scott?”

“Uh, oh, yeah, me and Vernon hit it off pretty well last time, so I thought I wouldn’t be all alone. Plus you needed someone to step up for you, when the ‘wolves choose a movie. Where are they, by the way?” So smooth. His name from here on is Stiles Smooth Stilinski. Alliterations are cool, okay?

“Lydia got sick, and she wanted Erica over to keep her company. Boyd goes pretty much anywhere Erica does, so they’re Lydia’s company for the weekend. Isaac said he has to work, and Cora isn’t answering me at all.”

“Oh. So, just the two of us then?” Stiles looks around, humming.

“Yeah. We can go home if you don’t feel like going anymore, I understand—”

“No!” Stiles cuts him off immediately, a little too enthusiastic. “I mean, no, it’s cool, if you’re okay with it too? I mean, I’ve never been to Beacon Hills cinema before. I’m curious what it’s like.” Stiles cringes internally. Really? His ‘Smooth’ title is so out the window.

“Sure. Is there anything you want to see in particular?” Derek wonders aloud, looking over at the posters stuck on the wall.

“You got any recommendations?” Stiles turns to look at them as well. He’s never heard of half of the movies displayed on the wall, but they look rather falling into the ‘Z’ category, with the exception of _The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey_. “They’re playing the first _Hobbit_ movie now? Dude. It’s been five years!” Stiles shakes his head.

“Small town. I don’t see anything else in my favor…”

“Hobbit it is then. Let’s go.” Derek nods, holding open the door to the cinema, so Stiles can pass, and it makes Stiles blush.

They get into line for the tickets, Derek paying without giving a chance for Stiles to pay for his own. Stiles shakes his head, then moves towards the snacks stand.

“What’s your order?” he asks Derek, who shrugs.

“I don’t usually eat anything.”

“What?!” Stiles gapes at him in disbelief. “No way. Dude. We’re getting you the biggest nachos and drinks. I’m not even kidding.” He isn’t. He orders two big trays of nachos, and two of the biggest sodas. Seeing Derek’s face when Stiles hands him his order is absolutely priceless.

They’re let into the theater, and Stiles starts munching on his nachos right away.

“I’ve seen this like four times already,” he tells Derek, who eyes his nachos with suspicion. “It’s such a good movie. Have you seen _Lord of the Rings_? Read the books?”

“I’ve read the books. _Hobbit_ was my favorite as a child, but I haven’t watched any of the movies.”

“Tsk. Okay, next weekend I demand a Tolkien marathon. All the _Hobbit_ movies, then _Lord of the Rings._ No excuses. Hey, have you heard they’re making a TV show from _LotR_?” Stiles wonders aloud, theorizing about what the series is going to be like, then the movie starts and he chimes in here and there, telling Derek which are his favorite scenes.

It’s good. It surprises Stiles how good the ‘date’ actually goes, Derek’s not looking ready to strangle him. That is, up until the movie is over and they leave the theater, Stiles talking Derek’s ear off about how “the second one isn’t that exciting, like, seriously, what were they thinking, splitting such a short book into three?”.

They’re walking down the dark street, illuminated by Christmas lights. The snow is drifting, but it’s melting by the time it reaches the ground.

Stiles feels stupid, mouth dry because he’s been talking about Middle Earth in the last ten minutes at least. He curses himself for being such a chatterbox, while Derek didn’t even offer more than just a few questions here and there.

“Uh, sorry, I’ll shut up now,” Stiles mutters, cheeks heating up. Derek shakes his head, slowing down.

“Hey, this is my favorite café. You want a hot drink?” Derek asks, gesturing to a small café in front of them. It’s very pretty, yellow fairy lights lighting up the inside. The actual lights are dimmed, making a very intimate atmosphere in there. Stiles doesn’t even have to think about agreeing.

As they’re waiting in line, Stiles is scanning the menu, eyes catching on one item.

“Gingerbread mocha? What is that?” he wonders aloud.

“I’ve never tried it.” Derek shrugs. When it’s their turn, Stiles eagerly orders the gingerbread coffee, while Derek asks for a hot chocolate. What the hell. “I don’t like the taste of coffee, and it doesn’t have any effect on… my kind, so I don’t bother,” he shrugs. Stiles laughs, shaking his head.

They settle at a small table, Stiles going off on how good the gingerbread mocha smells. It smells like Christmas and happiness. Derek seems extremely amused by that as he sips from his hot chocolate – it would probably burn every nerve ending on Stiles’ tongue, but as it is, Derek just makes a face and moves on.

“Oh, my word,” Stiles moans, not even feeling ashamed after he takes his first sip. “Dude. You have to try this. This doesn’t only smell like Christmas and happiness, it _tastes_ like it too!” Stiles pushes the cup towards Derek, urging him to take it.

Derek eyes the cup suspiciously for a moment, then carefully takes it, lifting it to his mouth. He doesn’t drink at first, smelling it, looking straight into Stiles’ eyes, then his are closing. He tilts the cup just so he can taste it with the tip of his tongue.

Stiles is pretty sure he’s in a trance, watching Derek’s mouth as the tongue appears then disappears. Then Derek’s eyes are opening, and the corner of his mouth is curling up.

“It’s really good. Thank you.” He puts the cup down, pushing it over to Stiles, who’s pretty much speechless.

They chat about books they like for the rest of the night (okay, Stiles is the one doing most of the chatting). The next thing Stiles knows it’s almost closing time and their cups are empty. There’s a text his dad sent him, that he can pick Stiles up in fifteen minutes, so they have to get going.

They go out to the now heavy snowfall, walking to Derek’s car not too far from the café. Derek stops, turns to smile at Stiles.

“Thanks for the movie. I had fun today.”

“Me too.” Stiles smiles, rocking on his heels until Derek steps closer, hand on Stiles’ elbow.

“I know that this isn’t...” he trails off, licking his lips and looking down where their feet press into the fresh snow. “I—”

“Gosh, just kiss me.” Stiles laughs. Derek looks up, face shocked. He doesn’t hesitate too long though, leans forward and captures Stiles’ lips in a short, closed mouthed kiss. Stiles doesn’t let him move away though, one arm coming up to pull him back in, stealing another, longer kiss. It tastes sweet, like Christmas and happiness and _Derek_ , and that’s so much better than the coffee.

 

END

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to say hi, I have a [tumblr](http://assisreal.tumblr.com/), and also here's a [rebloggable post](http://assisreal.tumblr.com/post/168511391692/finding-warmth-in-your-arms-im-not-even) if you feel like sharing the fic! Also check out the [Sterek Exchange 2017](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SterekExchange2017/works) for more awesome fics!
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comments are always appreciated, I learn from your constructive criticism!


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